Oppo Winter Driving Tips

"I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker" (qaaaaa) 10/06/2018 at 20:15 • Filed to: None

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Front page did a Countersteer on winter driving tips. The majority of the submissions were obvious- stuff like “pack cold weather supplies” “have winter tires” and “know how to drive in the winter.” So, Oppo, what is your winter driving routine? Any non-standard advice?

For me (keep in mind I’m 22 and I’ve only done 7 winters, all of which have been in the snow belt), the biggest difference between winter and non-winter driving is giving myself extra time and going slower. A remarkable number of people did not say to do this. I also question the necessity of snow tires. We (at least when I lived in the Akron, Ohio area) would regularly have in excess of three inches on the ground. My street would rarely get plowed less than two days after a snowfall. As long as I slowed down before a turn, I wouldn’t lose traction. I’d venture that 90% of the country lives in more favorable winter conditions. That said, I do frequently play around with loss of traction. In fact, this being my first summer with my Golf, I’m looking forward to the first snow. So, my tips as far as winter driving would be the following:

1. Don’t drive while it snows unless you absolutely, beyond a shadow of a doubt, need to. If you’re going to, slow down to about half as fast as you would were it not snowing.

2. Know how to drive with limited traction. Practice steering into the skid so you know how to follow a curve when there’s no traction on your rear wheels (having a manual handbrake helps for this).

3. Fuck everything else, snow tires included. They’re a scam unless you live where they don’t plow and you absolutely have to drive in the snow.

So, how do you winter drive?

MM54 > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker 10/06/2018 at 20:23

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Beware of everyone else

I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker > MM54 10/06/2018 at 20:27

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I learned to drive in the winter. The most important lesson I was taught, winter specific or otherwise, was to drive like every other driver would kill me if given the chance.

Nom De Plume > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker 10/06/2018 at 20:28

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OK, you can continue now that my pearls are firmly clutched

gmporschenut also a fan of hondas > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker 10/06/2018 at 20:28

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Snow tires : I would rather have more traction than I need, then find a situation where I don’t have enoug h.

atfsgeoff > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker 10/06/2018 at 20:29

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3. Fuck everything else, snow tires included. They’re a scam unless you live where they don’t plow and you absolutely have to drive in the snow.

Winter tires also give better wet/dry traction on pavement when it’s colder than 40 degrees out. Even when the roads are plowed, when it’s 20F outside they will be much more pliable and offer better grip than a comparably priced all-season.

That said, having driven multiple different cars in snow with and without winter tires, they make a HUGE difference, particularly on inclines (and especially when trying to stop going down a hill, or accelerating from a stop up a hill).

Alfalfa > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker 10/06/2018 at 20:31

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Get a good ice scraper. Keep extra ice scrapers, too, for transplants who aren’t prepared that you see scraping ice off with credit cards.

Also snow brooms are fucking fantastic, especially if you have a truck or SUV.

Demon-Xanth knows how to operate a street. > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker 10/06/2018 at 20:32

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Accelerate, brake, steer. Do one of the three at a time. The first time I drove on deep snow my impression was that it was like a mix of mud and sand. Both of which I have driven on. Just manage your momentum, gaining more before you need it, and shedding it when you don't.

I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker > atfsgeoff 10/06/2018 at 20:34

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I have never lost traction with all seasons in the winter, even at -15°F. That said, it’ll probably be a different story now that I’m without ABS.

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker 10/06/2018 at 20:34

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When in doubt, stay home

Demon-Xanth knows how to operate a street. > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker 10/06/2018 at 20:34

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In regards to snow tires: given how often it snows here in central Virginia, I chose an $80 set of chains to keep in my truck over an $800 set of tires  I'd have to swap.

I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker > gmporschenut also a fan of hondas 10/06/2018 at 20:35

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I’ve never lost traction without meaning to on all-seasons. Winter tires also have a smaller contact patch, so they actually have less traction than an all-season when the roads are dry/covered in salt powder. The times when they’re beneficial are limited, at least for my environment.

wkiernan > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker 10/06/2018 at 20:38

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I’m originally from Cleveland but I’ve spent more than five decades in Florida, so I haven’t experienced summer in adult memory.

I remember snow fondly, though. So beautiful, so cool. Someday I’ l l m o v e b a c k u p N o r t h , a t l e a s t I h o p e s o .

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker 10/06/2018 at 20:42

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Counter point: while all seasons are adequate for getting from point a to point b in the snow proper snow tires give you a much bigger safety net if you need to take evasive action. They also provide much better grip in icy conditions than all seasons, simply by being made of a dramatically softer and more plyable compound. Snow isn’t what’s going to get you, ice is. Its like insurance, you don’t need it most of the time but you are damn glad you have it when you do.

Though maybe that’s just me living in New England and driving in icy roads past idiots in snow banks on a weekly basis 5 month out of the year.

I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker > Alfalfa 10/06/2018 at 20:42

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I carry no less than three. Also, keep it in the back seat, not the trunk. Trunks can freeze shut, but if all the doors to your cabin freeze shut, you’re not going anywhere anyways.

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker 10/06/2018 at 20:46

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Have a car that is good for 24” days.

Maxima Speed > atfsgeoff 10/06/2018 at 20:49

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Exactly. Use the appropriate tires for the season. If anything all seasons are the scam, as they offer compromised performance in all seasonal extremes. I run summer tires in the summer and winter then swap them out for winters . I live in southern Ohio and always run studs in the winter. The people who don’t WILL lose traction in January and February doesn’t mean they wreck but in January I here it from people every day “I started slipping at sush and such place” and I always say “yep you’re still running all seasons aren’t you, I told you so” . Our road crews DO clear the roads, that’s actually the problem as it means that the “cleared road” combines with the salt and makes a slick icey slush that’s way more dangerous than snow.

With the appropriately studded tires I can safely drive in any conditions that would otherwise  prohibit me from traveling.

pip bip - choose Corrour > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker 10/06/2018 at 20:49

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winter drive?

easy.

as long as my wipers are ok, lights work and tyres have tread i’m good to go and i only slightly lower my speed

Maxima Speed > Demon-Xanth knows how to operate a street. 10/06/2018 at 20:52

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Yup, I prefer the Brake, Steer, Accelerate 

But yes this is vital,  especially in an FWD car.

zipfuel > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker 10/06/2018 at 20:57

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Like ot hers have said they aren’t “snow” tires they’re “winter” tires. The key difference is that the rubber compound stays sticky at lower temperatures meaning your braking distance is much less even in the dry (there’s plenty of tests to back this up)

The big treads for snow and Sipes for ice are a bonus but the real advantage is stopping 10' short of the thing you might otherwise have hit.

FYI my winter tires have all typically been the same width as my regular ones.

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker 10/06/2018 at 20:58

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You are talking about a couple of square millimeters of contact patch difference between an all season and a snow tire of the same size, something that is more than made up for by the softer compound of the snow tire.

gmporschenut also a fan of hondas > Maxima Speed 10/06/2018 at 21:02

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Thats my problem with the super salting. 2-3 days after a storm is more dangerous than the storm. 

Berang > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker 10/06/2018 at 21:03

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Lay on the horn until the snow moves out of the way.

gmporschenut also a fan of hondas > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker 10/06/2018 at 21:04

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i’ll take the 10% increase stopping distance  in dry conditons for the 50% improvement in the wet.

Urambo Tauro > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker 10/06/2018 at 21:06

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I didn’t want to submit this to the front page because it’s not good advice, but I’ll share it here- There’s a stop sign that I sometimes run, but ONLY in winter.

It’s a T-shaped intersection, where an unpaved road climbs uphill and has a stop sign where it meets a paved, flat, 55mph road with no stop signs. The unpaved road doesn’t get plowed until LONG after the main road has been cleared.

If I have to stop, and this side street hasn’t been cleared yet, I struggle to get enough traction to make it up into the intersection. So on slippery mornings I use momentum to get me through. It’s still dark when I roll through there in the morning, so watching for headlights is the only way I can do this safely . I can’t maintain a whole lot of speed tho ug h , because I need to leave a braking margin just in case I spot a car coming and need to stop, roll back down the hill and try again.

Forrest > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker 10/06/2018 at 21:22

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Try to remember to keep an umbrella in the car. Or a water proof jacket. But it's not a big deal if I forget, because there has been a drought here lately.

Tohru > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker 10/06/2018 at 21:41

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1. Winter tires on steelies. Aluminum rims contract and expand in cold weather and will leak down air. Also, they tend to corrode at the bead seat and also lead to leaks. Steelies generally don’t have this problem. The tires are self-explanatory - a cold-weather rubber formula with extra grooves to clear slush and melt from under the tread.

2. Ensure your parking brake system is working freely - lubricate or replace any seized cables. That way it’s ready for when you want to rip a skid in an empty grocery store parking lot.

3. Fluids, fluids, fluids. Check them all, change them if it’s time and you’ve been being a lazy bastard about it, make sure they won’t freeze on ya. Had a friend go off-roading in the summer, got a bunch of water in his front diff through the breather, and then when winter came around the water all froze inside the axle. First time he put it in 4 wheel drive it wouldn’t move.

4. Remote starter - unless you drive modern vehicles with the stupid low-flow oil pumps. A remote starter is great for thawing out your windows or - much more importantly - getting parts like the engine and transmission warmed up before you take off. Cold starts and immediate driving are hard on vehicles. But what’s worse is if you have a late-model car that switched to a low-flow oil pump to improve MPGs - they barely move enough oil at idle in warm temperatures to keep the engine alive, so in cold weather with oil that’s thickened up due to the cold letting that car idle is actually worse for it than driving it. Examples for vehicles you shouldn’t let idle include 5.4L Ford trucks (especially cam phaser-equipped models) and 3.5L Chevrolet Impalas.

Tohru > Demon-Xanth knows how to operate a street. 10/06/2018 at 21:43

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see, here in Wisconsin both tire chains and studded tires are not allowed - except on government vehicles (city, county, state). also, what the hell are you driving that’s $200 a tire?

AestheticsInMotion > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker 10/06/2018 at 22:14

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Send it

smobgirl > atfsgeoff 10/06/2018 at 22:14

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To start with, we have traction laws in the mountains here that can require snow tires or AWD/4WD, which is a good enough reason to have them. But I have totally destroyed countless  Subies on all-seasons with s now tires on the Fiat, particularly when they’re metering traffic through the tunnel and you get an uphill start in a 30-minute buildup at 11k feet. 

smobgirl > Urambo Tauro 10/06/2018 at 22:18

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I used to have to run a stop sign to get out of the neighborhood when I had the Civic. No way to get up the hill if I stopped. The main road would be plowed so I’d be good to go once I got there.

zipfuel > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker 10/06/2018 at 22:23

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Beware how your ABS behaves in the snow/ice, especially if it’s an older or cheaper model.

When the ABS kicked in on my ‘06 Focus in the snow it actually felt like the brakes went away! I’d estimate I lost at least 60% of braking.

There were a couple of times where I had to stop   urgently and needed the presence of mind to lift completely off the brake and pu t it back down to  the threshold.

P5guy now GTIguy > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker 10/06/2018 at 22:33

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I think the thing about snow tires is you don’t know how good they are until you have them. I finally started using them a few years ago and I can’t go back. I had to uses all seasons last year and I li ved but I could tell the difference they made especially in a car without ABS. 

My bird IS the word > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker 10/06/2018 at 23:26

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Watch out where those huskies go, dont you eat that yellow snow.

gogmorgo - rowing gears in a Grand Cherokee > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker 10/07/2018 at 00:17

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1. Don’t be afraid of the snow. Slowing down to half the speed you normally do makes you an obstacle in the road, especially if visibility is low . I’ll slow down if I need to, but only as much as necessary. Two clear tracks from all the traffic? Hammer down, just be cautious if you do need to stray over into the snow.

2. Rip all the donuts you can early on in the winter. Find an open space and let loose. Fishtail, go back and forth, learn to correct oversteer, learn to avoid understeer.   Learn how to keep your car under control while its pointed some other direction than the one it’s travelling in. “Look and steer in the direction you want to go” only gets you so far.

3. Winter tires are NOT a scam. The extra siping provides much better traction on ice, and the rubber compounds stay compliant in the cold, unlike all-seasons which just get rock hard. You don’t need studs unless you primarily drive on roads that are literally paved with snow and ice, no, but the science behind winter tires has been proven over and over. They’re not just for snow.

Winter happens. You learn to live in it just like anything else.

Pack sunglasses. Snow is bright.

gogmorgo - rowing gears in a Grand Cherokee > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker 10/07/2018 at 00:26

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Air brakes on heavy trucks have a slight lag time before they apply. But because they are far more tolerant of small leaks than hydraulic systems, they are far safer.

Same with winter tires. Little bit wet, little bit of snow, and they maintain most of their performance. 

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker 10/07/2018 at 03:19

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If you think snow tires are a scam you're either jaded or naive. On unplowed roads you’re more likely to have clearance issues than traction issues. Snow tires are amazing on plowed and icy roads. It’s harder to see the need on the flat roads of the midwest, but as someone from there who now lives in the mountains, I challenge you to take a rear wheel drive vehicle up to a mountain ski resort during snowfall, or after, without snow tires. It can absolutely be done, if you know what you’re doing and have great all seasons, but it’s sooooo much easier with snow tires. I can take my E55 up and blast past trucks when I’m on snows, but definitely not without.

Echo51 > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker 10/07/2018 at 05:05

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I live at the end of a country road, so if there’s any snowfall, both me and dad e-brake chuck it in the driveway from the road.

Other than that, winter tyres and a part block-off plate for the radiator so i have heat 2km sooner up the road.

Demon-Xanth knows how to operate a street. > Tohru 10/07/2018 at 05:14

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The chains are "Put them on to get your ass home." equipment for me. And a full size truck.

nafsucof > gmporschenut also a fan of hondas 10/07/2018 at 13:16

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not all snow tires are created equal as all all season tires are not created equal either so spend a couple bucks.  my new continental extreme winter contacts are excellent and better on dry pavement than most. 

nafsucof > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker 10/07/2018 at 13:19

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you’ve never had to stop in an emergency in those tires then.  

I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker > nafsucof 10/07/2018 at 13:28

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Believe me, I have. I’m not going to say the stopping distance is the same as in the summer, but it’s not hard or dangerous at all. Winter driving just isn’t that hard.

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker 10/17/2018 at 11:59

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i’ ve had to crawl in through the trunk because my doors were frozen shut more than ones. mostly in my 01 Civic coupe